Gift of the Unmage — Alma Alexander

Thus says Cheveyo: mage, teacher, the first person in Thea's life to remain unimpressed by her lineage as Double Seventh, the seventh child of two seventh children. From birth, great things were expected of Thea, gradually replaced by puzzled disappointment as it became evident her magical abilities are, at most, minimal. Now, with Cheveyo, Thea has begun to weave herself a new magical identity, infused with elements of the original worlds where Cheveyo and others like him walk. But back home, she attends the Academy, the one school on earth for those who, like her, can't do magic. It is at the Academy that Thea realizes she will indeed have to fight, since her enemies are hungrier and more dangerous than she thought. What's more, her greatest strength may be the very powerlessness she has resisted for so long.

Alma Alexander has woven a richly invented fantasy out of elements from many cultures, both real and imagined, and a memorable cast of characters.